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In a globalized world where power-relations are changing, the need to reformulate the framework of global trade and trade-liberalization to be more conducive for development has been increasingly recognized in trade and development forums. This has resulted in increased donor focus on trade related development assistance and the moral justifications of trade-relations. This thesis set out to quest
Secondary packaging solutions presently used to package food goods in e-commerce supply chain are either taken from old supply chains, or sub-optimally developed in a non-holistic manner. Due to the increase use of the Internet in Europe to perform online food purchases, secondary packaging must be adapted to meet these new needs. Therefore, a secondary packaging solution for a Dutch e-grocer was
The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the important elements for the local government when implementing sustainability in a city. By increasing the understanding of the important elements local governments are able to realize the critical factors in the implementation.
The financial position of the medical insurance system of Japanese government has been worsened recently, and thus the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has prompted the medical reforms to reconstruct the financial balance of the medical insurance system. As one of these efforts, a fixed payment system for medical services based on “DPC” (Diagnosis Procedure Combination) was introduced to a nu
Objectives: To describe the process and outcomes of using a new evidence base to develop scientific guidelines that specify the type and minimum dose of exercise necessary to improve fitness and cardiometabolic health in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: International. Methods: Using Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II reporting criteria, steps included (a) det
Lactobacillus reuteri metabolises glycerol efficiently to form 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3PDO) by the same mechanism as that for 1,2-propanediol (1,2PDO) conversion to propionic acid and propanol via its propanediol utilization (pdu) pathway. Pdu enzymes are encoded by the pdu-operon, which also contain genes encoding the shell proteins of the microcompartment housing t
During the summer of 2015, India was hit by a scorching heat wave that melted pavements in Delhi and caused thousands of deaths, mainly among the most marginalized populations. One such group facing growing heat risks from both occupational and meteorological causes are migrant brick kiln workers. This study evaluates both current heat risks and the potential future impacts of heat caused by clima
Purpose: To compare the performance of one-view digital breast tomosynthesis (1v-DBT) to that of three other protocols combining DBT and mammography (DM) for breast cancer detection. Materials and methods: Six radiologists, three experienced with 1v-DBT in screening, retrospectively reviewed 181 cases (76 malignant, 50 benign, 55 normal) in two sessions. First, they scored sequentially: 1v-DBT (me
In all manufacturing processes, it is important to determine the costs and their distribution between different sequential processing steps. A cost equation based directly on the losses during manufacturing, such as rejection rate, stops and waste of workpiece materials, also provides a valuable aid in giving priority to various development activities and investments. The present work concerns how
In Case C-364/13 International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCC) v. Comptroller General of Patents (December 18th, 2014), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) distinguished its’ earlier ruling in Brüstle v. Greenpeace (Brüstle) with regard to non-fertilized human ova stimulated by parthenogenesis. The Court found that in order to be considered a ‘human embryo’- and thus to be unpatentable
Recently, many genome-wide profiling studies provided insights into the molecular make-up of major cancer types. The deeper understanding of these genetic alterations and their functional consequences led to the discovery of novel therapeutic opportunities improving clinical management of cancer patients. While tissue-based molecular patient stratification is the gold standard for precision medici
Pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate inflammatory and hemodynamic plasma biomarkers as predictors for AAA in the prospective longitudinal cohort of middle-aged individuals from the cardiovascular cohort of the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study ( n=5551; 1991-94). C-reactive protein, cystatin C, copeptin, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic pepti
The cleavage fracture probability of ferritic and ferritic/martensitic steels is generally computed using Beremin's model. In this work, a novel approach is developed for Beremin's model to be applicable to crack tip conditions under nonself similar stress field. The modification of Beremin's model corrects the inaccurate integration of local cleavage fracture probabilities of reference volume ele
Surrogate indicators are meant to be alternatives or complements of safety analyses based on accident records. These indicators are used to study critical traffic events that occur more frequently, making such incidents easier to analyse. This article provides an overview of existing surrogate indicators and specifically focuses on their merit for the analyses of vulnerable road users and the exte
Rationale: Several guidelines exist that address treatment of patients with nonmetastatic muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). However, most only briefly mention follow-up strategies for patients and hence the treating physician is often left to infer on what the preferred follow-up schema would be for an individual patient. Herein, we aim to synthesize recommendations for follow-up of patients
When using fluorescence microscope techniques to study cells, it is essential that the cell structure and contents are preserved after preparation of the samples, and that the preparation method employed does not create artefacts that can be perceived as cellular structure/components. γ-Tubulin forms filaments that in some cases are immunostained with an anti-γ-tubulin antibody, but this immunosta
Background: Western multicenter studies on distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR), also known as the Appleby procedure, for locally advanced pancreatic cancer are lacking. We aimed to study overall survival, morbidity, mortality and the impact of preoperative hepatic artery embolization (PHAE). Methods: Retrospective cohort study within the European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Bili
A sol-gel-based reverse-phase microarray was developed with improved sensitivity for prostatespecific antigen (PSA) from serum. The pore-sizecontrolled 3D sol-gel matrix was created with a large surface area to capture target molecules densely. Using the optically active sol-gel nanocomposites, human female serum was spiked with PSA and assessed using the reverse-phase protein microarray. The reve
Objective: To survey potential predictors of success of mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and in particular, to examine anatomical narrowings and sleep-related collapse levels in the upper airway. Methods: This was a prospective study of 62 OSA patients (median apnea–hypopnea index [AHI] of 34), who were treated with a custom-made, monobloc
